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If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
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Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
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Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
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An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
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Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
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I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
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I work as a benefits counselor (not for the county), and I'm seeing this issue CONSTANTLY in 2025. The reality is that county offices lost a lot of staff after COVID and never fully recovered. That said, you still have rights. Here's what you should do: 1. Request expedited service if your household income is very low compared to your rent/utilities (sounds like you qualify) 2. Call the county AND submit a message through BenefitsCal specifying that you're facing a food emergency 3. If no response in 2 business days, contact your county Board of Supervisors office 4. You can also file a formal Civil Rights complaint if you believe the delay is discriminatory in any way Remember that when your benefits are eventually approved, they should be backdated to your application date. Make sure they don't just start from the approval date.
Thank you for this detailed response. I did check my BenefitsCal account again, and I see my application status is still listed as 'Pending' with no other details. I'll follow your steps starting tomorrow morning. And yes, I'll make sure they backdate the benefits to when I applied - that would make a huge difference for us.
Quick update? Did you get anywhere with this? I'm curious because I'm having the exact same issue but with Alameda County and wondering if any of these strategies actually worked for you.
YES! Finally got it resolved yesterday! I used the Claimyr service that someone mentioned above to get through to a real person, and then I specifically mentioned I needed 'expedited service' and was experiencing a 'food emergency' (using those exact terms). The worker pulled up my case right away and discovered it had actually been assigned to someone who went on medical leave! They reassigned it on the spot and processed my approval within an hour. Benefits should be on my EBT card by tomorrow. They're also backdating it to my application date like they're supposed to.
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i had the same thing last month but on the 5th (my day is the 4th). i just waited and it showed up the next day. no explanation or anything but at least it came. i think their system is just slow sometimes.
mine came this morning!!!! finally. hope yours does 2
UPDATE: My benefits just loaded this morning! Looks like it was just delayed due to the system update AND the pending verification documents. I uploaded my pay stubs on BenefitsCal and also used that Claimyr service to actually talk to someone at the county office. They confirmed everything was fine with my case and the delay was just processing related. Thanks everyone for your help!!!
Great news! For future reference, always submit verification documents as soon as you receive the request, even if the deadline is later. The sooner you submit, the sooner your benefits process. Glad everything worked out!
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did they ask for exakt $ amount of food u lost? my friend in stockton had a fridge die and they made her list everything item by item and it was a huge pain
They asked for an approximate total but didn't make me list every item. I showed them my receipt from FoodMaxx which had most of the groceries on it ($356) and then estimated another $70 for the stuff I had leftover from previous shopping trips. They seemed fine with that approach.
Glad to hear you got help! For anyone else reading this in the future who's dealing with a similar situation - the most important things to remember are: 1. Report within 10 days of the food loss 2. Get that CF 303 form filled out completely 3. Provide as much documentation as possible 4. If it's a widespread disaster, check if D-CalFresh has been activated And if you're having trouble getting through on the phone, services like Claimyr can help you reach a live person instead of waiting on hold for hours. That 10-day window is critical and can't be missed!
EXACTLY!! And remember the county WILL try to deny you if they can find any reason! I always tell people to submit everything IN WRITING too so they can't claim they "never received your call" - which happened to me before. The system is RIGGED against us!!
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I was confused about this too and finally found some information in the FAQs section of the California CDSS website. According to their updates, the P-EBT for children under 6 years old follows a different issuance schedule than school-aged children. They're planning to distribute benefits to under-6 children in batches throughout March and April 2025. If your child received P-EBT benefits before, they should use the same card. If this is your first time, you'll get a new P-EBT card in the mail. The benefit amount will be $46 per eligible month for most children, though it varies based on school closure data in your area. Hopefully this helps! The communication around these benefits could definitely be clearer.
Thank you! $46 per month isn't a ton but it definitely helps with how expensive groceries have gotten. I'll just keep checking our old card and hopefully it loads soon.
Giovanni Colombo
One thing nobody's mentioned yet - since she's had her ID stolen/kept by the ex-boyfriend, she should also ask about the CalFresh Identification Verification process. They can use alternative methods to verify her identity, including:\n\n- School records (if she can contact her school)\n- Prior benefit history if she was ever on benefits with your mother\n- Birth certificate requests (the county can help with this)\n- Collateral contacts (people who can verify who she is)\n\nThe county is required to help with this process. Don't let them turn her away just because she lacks ID. And if she's having trouble getting through to anyone on the phone, definitely try the Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier - getting a real person on the phone makes all the difference with these situations.
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StarSeeker
This is excellent advice. I'd also add that she should request an emergency replacement EBT card if she previously had one that the boyfriend is keeping. DPSS can cancel the old card and issue a new one on the spot at some offices.
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